Does metal biodegrade

Answer 1

Yes and no.

Some organisms can break down some metals. In everyday life, it is far more common for metal to degrade chemically (via reaction to water, or the air, or soil acidity etc.)

In an environmental context, whether metal is degraded biologically or chemically, it can still lead to problems. For instance, many metal compounds are poisonous, a good example being Mercury, which will usually pass through an organism without harming it, but when converted into methylmercury by microbes (or by chemical plants) becomes highly toxic (see Minamata disease).

Answer 2

Biodegradable refers to products or materials that may be broken down by organic means, or by other organisms. Metals break down by oxidation. Biodegradable materials also become part of the environment, putting nutrients back into the soil. Most metal or the oxides of metals pollute the soil and cause many organisms to die.